The pressure on Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl must have been intense as politicians, musicians, athletes and critics both praised the Puerto Rican superstar and knocked it because he's a singer who only performs in Spanish.
While some were concerned that his appearance as the halftime entertainment on Super Bowl Sunday (2/8) would be turned off once a big swatch of the US audience once they either didn't hear songs they were familiar with or a language they were raised with; others pointed to the fact that Benito is beloved around the globe, including in the States, and has had no problem selling out arenas around the world for years.
Even back in 2022 his World's Hottest Tour was packing them in at football stadiums and making the cover of fashion magazines. In four years his flame has only burned brighter.
What transpired over the 13 minutes was a beautiful musical journey through the culture, community, and joy of Latin America which is very much part of American culture, lest anyone pretend otherwise.
It was upbeat, sexy, surprising, creative, and pretty much all in Spanish and yet it kept over 134 million viewers glued to the set even if they weren't singing along.
"I'm only here because I never stopped believing in myself, and you too should believe in yourself," the singer said in Spanish at the top of the show.
As he danced through various sets while stars made cameos as extras around him, it was clear who the real star was and how gracious he was being to those easily recognizable as well as those who were getting their first shot on an international stage.
The first person he shared the spotlight with was Lady Gaga who got 10% of his allotted time to do a salsafied version of "Die With a Smile."
At first the blonde Gaga bore the look of half-Ecuadorian Christina Aguilera, which some felt would have been a better fit, but The Independent's DC bureau chief Eric Michael Garcia nailed it when he tweeted, "Lady Gaga being in the show is also Latino culture because we all have that white cousin who can drink tequila and speaks perfect Spanish two years after marrying into the family."
When people asked online why of all the special guests he could have invited to party with, did he choose Gaga, big fans of Benito pointed out that he's been a Little Monster for quite a while.
Others noted that it was she that snuck up behind him last week at the Grammys and when he saw it was Mother Monster, he gave the reaction that became a meme. He's also been seen wearing her merch for years.
The other somewhat unexpected guest was Ricky Martin. But when one looks at the best-selling Puerto Rican musicians, it makes sense.
Bad Bunny tops the list with over 100 million albums sold, Jennifer Lopez (over 80 million), Ricky Martin (over 70 million), Daddy Yankee (around 30 million), Don Omar (around 30 million), Marc Anthony (over 12 million), and Luis Fonsi (over 11 million).
One question people had about one of the costumes Bad Bunny wore was the white outfit with the 64 on it.
Some say it was his uncle's number when he played football. Others claim he was paying tribute to his mother who was born in 1964.
Yet others reminded readers that 64 was the original death toll in the wake of the Hurricane Maria tragedy that befell PR in 2017.
The number was later adjusted to over 1,000 deaths.
The performance also had a real proposal and then wedding.
Benito handed one of his Grammys to a child who was dressed as he once did as a lad. He woke up a kid who had fallen asleep on several chairs.
And then with a billboard behind him that read in all-caps, "The only thing more powerful than hate is love," he said "God bless America," and reeled off a list of countries including Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, the United States, and Canada.
Then he gave a special shout out to his home of Puerto Rico.
That was the one and only show Bad Bunny is doing in the USA this year. The remainder of his tour for 2026 will be in Europe.
Grab your tix through his website.
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS World Tour 2026
2/13-2/15 Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2/20-2/21 Allianz Parque, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2/28-3/1 ENGIE Stadium, Sydney, Australia
5/22-5/23 Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Spain
5/26-5/27 Estádio da Luz, Lisboa, Portugal
5/30-5/31 Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
6/2-6/3 Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
6/6-6/7 Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
6/10-6/11 Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
6/14-6/15 Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
6/20-6/21 MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA, Düsseldorf, Germany
6/23-6/24 GelreDome, Arnhem, Netherlands
6/27-6/28 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, United Kingdom
7/1 Orange Vélodrome, Marseille, France
7/4-7/5 Paris La Défense Arena, Nanterre, France
7/10-7/11 Strawberry Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
7/14 PGE Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland
7/17-7/18 Ippodromo SNAI La Maura, Milano, Italy
7/22 Koning Boudewijnstadion, Brussels, Belgium
